Classifications

• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
  • H04N19/00—Methods or arrangements for coding, decoding, compressing or decompressing digital video signals
  • H04N19/90—Methods or arrangements for coding, decoding, compressing or decompressing digital video signals using coding techniques not provided for in groups H04N19/10-H04N19/85, e.g. fractals
  • H04N19/98—Adaptive-dynamic-range coding [ADRC]
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
  • G06T—IMAGE DATA PROCESSING OR GENERATION, IN GENERAL
  • G06T9/00—Image coding
• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F21—LIGHTING
  • F21S—NON-PORTABLE LIGHTING DEVICES; SYSTEMS THEREOF; VEHICLE LIGHTING DEVICES SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR VEHICLE EXTERIORS
  • F21S41/00—Illuminating devices specially adapted for vehicle exteriors, e.g. headlamps
  • F21S41/60—Illuminating devices specially adapted for vehicle exteriors, e.g. headlamps characterised by a variable light distribution
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
  • H04N19/00—Methods or arrangements for coding, decoding, compressing or decompressing digital video signals
  • H04N19/10—Methods or arrangements for coding, decoding, compressing or decompressing digital video signals using adaptive coding
  • H04N19/102—Methods or arrangements for coding, decoding, compressing or decompressing digital video signals using adaptive coding characterised by the element, parameter or selection affected or controlled by the adaptive coding
  • H04N19/115—Selection of the code volume for a coding unit prior to coding
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
  • H04N19/00—Methods or arrangements for coding, decoding, compressing or decompressing digital video signals
  • H04N19/10—Methods or arrangements for coding, decoding, compressing or decompressing digital video signals using adaptive coding
  • H04N19/189—Methods or arrangements for coding, decoding, compressing or decompressing digital video signals using adaptive coding characterised by the adaptation method, adaptation tool or adaptation type used for the adaptive coding
  • H04N19/192—Methods or arrangements for coding, decoding, compressing or decompressing digital video signals using adaptive coding characterised by the adaptation method, adaptation tool or adaptation type used for the adaptive coding the adaptation method, adaptation tool or adaptation type being iterative or recursive
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
  • B60Q—ARRANGEMENT OF SIGNALLING OR LIGHTING DEVICES, THE MOUNTING OR SUPPORTING THEREOF OR CIRCUITS THEREFOR, FOR VEHICLES IN GENERAL
  • B60Q1/00—Arrangement of optical signalling or lighting devices, the mounting or supporting thereof or circuits therefor
  • B60Q1/02—Arrangement of optical signalling or lighting devices, the mounting or supporting thereof or circuits therefor the devices being primarily intended to illuminate the way ahead or to illuminate other areas of way or environments
  • B60Q1/04—Arrangement of optical signalling or lighting devices, the mounting or supporting thereof or circuits therefor the devices being primarily intended to illuminate the way ahead or to illuminate other areas of way or environments the devices being headlights
  • B60Q1/14—Arrangement of optical signalling or lighting devices, the mounting or supporting thereof or circuits therefor the devices being primarily intended to illuminate the way ahead or to illuminate other areas of way or environments the devices being headlights having dimming means
  • B60Q1/1415—Dimming circuits
  • B60Q1/1423—Automatic dimming circuits, i.e. switching between high beam and low beam due to change of ambient light or light level in road traffic
  • B60Q1/143—Automatic dimming circuits, i.e. switching between high beam and low beam due to change of ambient light or light level in road traffic combined with another condition, e.g. using vehicle recognition from camera images or activation of wipers
• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F21—LIGHTING
  • F21S—NON-PORTABLE LIGHTING DEVICES; SYSTEMS THEREOF; VEHICLE LIGHTING DEVICES SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR VEHICLE EXTERIORS
  • F21S41/00—Illuminating devices specially adapted for vehicle exteriors, e.g. headlamps
  • F21S41/10—Illuminating devices specially adapted for vehicle exteriors, e.g. headlamps characterised by the light source
  • F21S41/14—Illuminating devices specially adapted for vehicle exteriors, e.g. headlamps characterised by the light source characterised by the type of light source
  • F21S41/141—Light emitting diodes [LED]
• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F21—LIGHTING
  • F21W—INDEXING SCHEME ASSOCIATED WITH SUBCLASSES F21K, F21L, F21S and F21V, RELATING TO USES OR APPLICATIONS OF LIGHTING DEVICES OR SYSTEMS
  • F21W2102/00—Exterior vehicle lighting devices for illuminating purposes
  • F21W2102/10—Arrangement or contour of the emitted light
  • F21W2102/13—Arrangement or contour of the emitted light for high-beam region or low-beam region

Definitions

• This invention relates to the field of vehicle lighting systems, and more particularly to the management of image data for controlling vehicle lighting sources.
• Current lighting systems include in particular light sources now making it possible to project a high-definition light beam.
• the desired projection of high definition light can be achieved through the light sources and from images, or image patterns, that the sources receive for display and thereby project a given beam of light.
• These images or image patterns can reach very high resolutions now, especially depending on the resolution of the light source used.
• the light source can have at least 4000 to 30,000 pixels, thus allowing a light beam to be generated from an image of this resolution level.
• the vehicle therefore carries more and more light sources, which use increasingly heavy high-definition image data, which implies a large amount of data which must be managed by a vehicle control unit and communicated via a means of transmission between the control unit and the light source (s).
• a CAN protocol type data bus is often used to transfer such data between the control unit and the light source.
• these data transmission means have the drawback of having a limited bandwidth, not for example making it possible to exceed a bit rate of 2 to 5 Mbps generally.
• difficulties arise in transmitting over these limited networks the large amount of data necessary for the aforementioned high definition images.
• these networks are also used for the communication of other vehicle data, which implies that the bandwidth available for high definition image data can still vary downwards, for example being limited to a range of 70 to 90 % of the maximum possible speed on the data transmission network.
• the bit rate required on a CAN-FD type transmission network would generally be 10 to 12 Mbps.
• a CAN-FD network is in reality limited to 5 Mbps to date (or even to 2 Mbps in most cases).
• the display quality cannot be degraded too much, under penalty of significantly reducing user comfort, making the light information projected by the light beam uncertain, even unsuitable or even illegible.
• a technical solution is therefore sought in order to overcome the drawbacks mentioned above.
• the invention provides an at least partial solution to the technical problems previously raised by means of a method for managing image data in an automobile lighting system, said lighting system comprising at least one lighting module intended for the projection of light beams, said light beams being generated from data relating to the selection of at least one image, each image being respectively defined by a matrix comprising a plurality of horizontal or vertical rows of pixels, in which each pixel is characterized by a numerical value related to a light intensity of said pixel, said method comprising the following steps:
• the pixel is saved as a compressed pixel in a list to be transmitted, otherwise the analyzed pixel is not saved;
• the previous steps are to reiterate until the last pixel of the last row of the matrix; and in that the list of compressed pixels of the matrix is transmitted to at least one lighting module so that it can project a resulting image.
• the values E_Max and G_Err are respectively constant, configured so as to achieve a desired compression ratio, with respect to the activation of at least one photometry and / or lighting function.
• the E_Max value is set to 3 and / or the G_Err value is set to 16/255.
• E_Max when photometry relating to a low beam LB is activated, then the value of E_Max is set to 3, and:
• G_Err is set to 16/255, or
• G_Err is set to 32/255
• G_Err if DBL photometry is activated, then the value of G_Err is set to 16/255.
• E_Max value is set to 4 and the value of G_Err is set to 16/255;
• the E_Max value is set to 5 and the G_Err value is set to 64/255;
• the E_Max value is set to 7 and the G_Err value is set to 96/255 for photometry with or without DBL.
• an OFF type photometry when activated, in other words when the numerical value of all the pixels of the original image is at 0 or off, and the lighting functions RW, or LA, or LA_Center are enabled, then the E_Max value is set to 3 and the G_Err value is set to 16/255.
• the compression ratio is greater than 85%.
• the invention relates to an automotive lighting system comprising:
• At least one lighting module comprising a plurality of light sources capable of projecting at least one photometry and / or lighting function from compressed data
• control unit configured so as to implement all of the process steps according to any one of the preceding characteristics.
• the lighting module further comprises a control unit configured so as to be able to decompress the list of compressed pixels.
• control unit of each lighting module comprises a memory in which is stored at least one Welcome and / or one Goodbye scenario.
• At least one lighting module comprises at least one semiconductor light source, such as LEDs, and in particular a pixelated LED source.
• LEDs such as LEDs
• a pixelated LED source Compared to incandescent lighting, solid-state lighting creates visible light with reduced heat production and energy dissipation.
• the generally low mass of an electronic solid-state lighting device offers greater resistance to shock and vibration than brittle glass tubes / bulbs and long, thin filament wires. They also eliminate evaporation from the filament, which can increase the life of the lighting device.
• Some examples of these types of lighting include solid-state light-emitting diodes (LEDs), organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) or polymer light-emitting diodes (PLEDs) as sources of illumination rather than electric filaments, plasma or gas.
• Fig 1 illustrates a schematic representation of an image relating to a high beam type photometry, according to one embodiment of the invention
• Fig 2 illustrates a partial matrix of pixels of the photometry according to Fig 1, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention
• FIG. 3 illustrates a curve representative of one of the rows of the image according to Fig 1, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.
• FIG. 4a and FIG. 4b illustrate schematic representations relating to the steps for determining the significant inflection points of the curve according to FIG. 3, in accordance with the method according to the invention.
• FIG 5 illustrates the result of a decompression step, according to one embodiment of the invention.
• Fig 6 illustrates an automotive lighting system according to the invention.
• Fig 7 illustrates a summary table of the compression rates of the photometries and / or lighting functions with respect to the configuration of the parameters E_max and G_Err, in accordance with the invention
• Fig 8 illustrates a schematic representation of photometry relating to an LB, in accordance with the invention.
• Fig 9 illustrates a schematic representation of a photometry relating to an LB with an LA-type lighting function, in accordance with the invention.
• Fig 10 illustrates a schematic representation of a photometry relating to an HB with an ADB type lighting function, according to the invention.
• Fig 11 illustrates a schematic representation of photometry relating to HB with the ADB and LA lighting functions activated, in accordance with the invention.
• Fig 12 shows a schematic representation of photometry relating to an HB with the TSAG and ADB lighting functions activated.
• Fig 13 shows a schematic representation of a photometry relating to an HB with the lighting functions TSAG, ADB and LA activated.
• Fig 14 shows a schematic representation of a photometry relating to an HB with the lighting functions TSAG, ADB and LA_Center activated.
• Fig 15 shows a schematic representation of a photometry relating to HB and DBL, with the lighting functions TSAG, ADB and LA activated.
• SYS Lighting system of a motor vehicle comprising at least one lighting module HL [z], a multiplexed CAN bus, and a PCM control unit;
• HL [z] lighting module, an essential component for the projection of light beams of the same resolution, z corresponding to the number of the module;
• l [x] original image relating to a set of non-exhaustive photometries or lighting functions of type LB, HB, OFF, DBL, ADB, TSAG, RW, LA, LA_Center.
• HB (High Beam) representative photometry of a high beam
• DBL (Dynamic Bending Light) photometry allowing directional dynamic lighting, in other words a horizontal displacement of the maximum intensity of an LB or HB photometry according to the angle of rotation of the steering wheel of a motor vehicle;
• ADB (Adaptive Driving Beam) function allowing lighting with high beam type photometry while preventing dazzling of other road users;
• TSAG Traffic Sign Anti-Glare lighting function to prevent the glare of billboards on a road due to the projection of light beams from the motor vehicle;
• RW (Road Writing) lighting function allowing the projection on the road of patterns visible to the driver and / or road users;
• LA (Line Assist in English) lighting function allowing the projection of a line-type pattern on the road, in particular to delimit a portion of the road to be taken by the motor vehicle or to present an obstacle avoidance strategy;
• LA_Center is a variant of LA, except that this one projects in the center of the road, in particular to indicate a direction of the vehicle.
• V [i] Image pixel, where i is a variable ranging from an initial value 1 to a final value F;
• V [i] Numerical value of pixel P [i], where i is a variable ranging from an initial value 1 to a final value F;
• R [k] k-th Rows of the image l [x] or of the Matrix M [x], where k is a variable ranging from an initial value 1 to a final value D;
• C_R [k] Curve relating to the k-th row R [k];
• PIS [i] Significant inflection point of a curve C_R [k], is the point where a change in the concavity of the curve C_R [k] takes place, the PIS [i] is considered as a pixel intended for be compressed, where i is a variable ranging from an initial value 1 to a final value F; E_Max: (Error Max) Difference in intensity between the original pixel P [i] and the compressed pixel PIS [i];
• E_Max_V [i] (Current Error max in English) Maximum permissible difference between the value V [i] of the pixel P [i] of the original image l [x] and the value of the compressed pixel PIS [i];
• G_Err (Gradient Error) Spatial difference between the original pixel P [i] and the compressed pixel PIS [i];
• PCM (Pixel Controller Module in English), is a control unit intended to control a set of pixels of lighting modules via a control unit UC [z]; UC [z]: Control unit, also called Driver in English, is intended to control a lighting module.
• Each UC [z] control unit interacts as a “Slave” with respect to the PCM control unit considered as “Master”.
• the exemplary embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those of ordinary skill in the art to be able to implement the systems and processes described below. It is important to understand that the embodiments can be provided in many alternative forms and should not be construed as being limited to the examples presented below.
• Fig 1 illustrates a schematic representation of a so-called original l [x] image relating to a high beam type photometry HB (High Beam) of an HL automotive lighting device.
• each image l [x] has its equivalent in the form of a matrix M [x] of pixel P [i], each pixel P [i] being characterized by a digital value V [i] linked to an intensity luminous on a scale from 0, corresponding to black, up to 255, corresponding to white.
• Fig 2 illustrates an embodiment relating to a partial matrix M [x] of pixels P [i] with a photometry corresponding to the main beam headlights HB according to Fig 1.
• control unit PCM for Pixel Controller Module
• UC [z] the control unit
• the control unit PCM and each control unit UC [z] respectively comprise, in a non-exhaustive manner, at least one microprocessor and one memory (not referenced) configured so as to allow the implementation of a control method of projection of light beams from an automotive lighting device HL according to the invention.
• the PCM control unit is configured so that according to data collected from a set of sensors distributed in the motor vehicle and the environmental context in which said vehicle operates, said PCM control unit is capable of decide, in total autonomy or at the instigation of a driver, or of the latter's behavior on the road, the activation or deactivation of at least one regulatory photometry and / or lighting function.
• said two notions of photometry and of lighting function are distinct. Indeed, it will be considered, in a non-exhaustive list, that the term photometry encompasses an image l [x], with x ranging from 1 to 4, where:
• - I [1] comprises an equivalent matrix M [1] corresponding to a high beam LB (High Beam in English);
• - I [2] comprises an equivalent matrix M [2] corresponding to a low beam HB (Low beam in English);
• - I [3] comprises an equivalent matrix M [3] where all the pixels have a numerical value V [i] at 0, in other words all the pixels P [i] are off (OFF), with i ranging from 1 to F;
• - I [4] comprises an equivalent matrix M [4] corresponding to dynamic directional lighting DBL (Dynamic Bending Light).
• - I [5] includes an equivalent matrix M [5] corresponding to an ADB (Adaptive Driving Beam) function allowing lighting with LB, HB, or DBL type photometry while avoiding dazzling of other users of the road. road;
• ADB Adaptive Driving Beam
• - I [6] comprises an equivalent matrix M [6] corresponding to a TSAG function (Traffic Sign Anti-Glare in English) making it possible to avoid the glare of the billboards of a road following the projection of light beams from the motor vehicle;
• TSAG function Traffic Sign Anti-Glare in English
• - I [7] comprises an equivalent matrix M [7] corresponding to an RW (Road Writing) function allowing the projection onto the road of patterns visible by the driver and / or by road users;
• - I [8] comprises an equivalent matrix M [8] corresponding to an LA function (Line Assist in English) allowing the projection of line type patterns on the road with or without a feeling of scrolling of the lines so as to delimit a portion of the road to be taken by the motor vehicle or to plan an obstacle avoidance strategy;
• LA function Line Assist in English
• - I [9] comprises an equivalent matrix M [9] corresponding to a function LA_Center which is a variant of the function LA, except that the latter is projected at the center of the road, in particular to indicate a direction of the vehicle.
• the invention is in no way limited to the only photometries and lighting functions mentioned above, it goes without saying that images relating to a welcome / goodbye scenario, or other photometries / lighting functions specific to the regulation of a country or region of a world could be added or updated.
• a database comprising a set of matrix M [x] of photometries and lighting functions possible on a road, in particular as a function of the respective regulations, is stored in the memory of the control unit PCM .
• the PCM control unit proceeds, following receipt of an instruction from the driver or on its own initiative with regard to the environmental context of the motor vehicle, to the activation of the projection of an image l [x], the matrix The corresponding M [x] is then selected from the database saved in the memory of the PCM control unit.
• the PCM control unit then proceeds sequentially with the execution of the following steps for each of the curves C_R [k], from the first pixel P [1] to the last pixel P [F] of the row R [k] :
• G [i] V [i + 1] - V [i], with i ranging from 1 to F;
• E_Max_V [i] a value corresponding to the maximum difference tolerated between the value V [i] of the analyzed pixel P [i] of the original image l [x] and the value V [i] of the compressed pixel PIS [i].
• E_Max_V [i] E_Max + G [i] * G_Err, where E_Max and G_Err are parameters which can be constant or variable depending on the desired compression strategy .
• E_max corresponds to the difference in intensity between the original pixel P [i] and the compressed pixel PIS [x]
• G_Err corresponds to the spatial difference between the original pixel P [i] and the compressed pixel PIS [x ];
• This list of vectors or gradients G [i] lies between the value G [i] -E_Max_V [i] and the value G [i] + E_Max_V [i];
• Fig 7 illustrates a summary table of the compression rates of the photometries and / or lighting functions with respect to the configuration of the parameters E_max and G_Err, according to one embodiment of the invention. These values are taken from experimental data. According to the invention, it appears that when the values E_Max and G_Err are respectively constant, a desired compression ratio is achieved, depending on the activation of at least one photometry and / or lighting function.
• the compression rate fluctuates relatively with an average value around 85% with a margin of +/- -5% compared to the photometry and / or functions activated.
• the value of E_Max is set to 3 and:
• G_Err is set to 16/255, or
• G_Err is set to 32/255
• G_Err if DBL photometry is activated, then the value of G_Err is set to 16/255.
• E_Max value is set to 4 and the value of G_Err is set to 16/255;
• the E_Max value is set to 5 and the G_Err value is set to 64/255;
• the E_Max value is set to 7 and the G_Err value is set to 96/255 for photometry with or without DBL.
• the E_Max value is set to 3 and the G_Err value is set to 16/255.
• FIG 6 shows a SYS automotive lighting system according to the invention comprising:
• At least one HL [z] lighting module comprising a plurality of light sources, such as LEDs, capable of projecting photometry and / or lighting function from compressed LPIS [i] data;
• PCM control unit intended to implement all of the previously mentioned compression steps, so as to generate compressed data PIS [i];
• this UC [z] control unit configured to decompress the compressed data, this UC [z] control unit being located in the HL [z] lighting module.
• Such a step of decompressing the list LPIS [i] of compressed pixels PIS [i] received via the CAN at the lighting modules HL [z] is carried out by means of:
• Each lighting module HL [z] makes it possible to obtain a projection of road beams or resulting image lr [x] of a quality substantially identical to the original image l [x], by having used a process allowing a compression ratio of around or greater than 85% depending on the strategy adopted.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Multimedia (AREA)
• Signal Processing (AREA)
• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Theoretical Computer Science (AREA)
• General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Lighting Device Outwards From Vehicle And Optical Signal (AREA)

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• 2020
  • 2020-04-24 FR FR2004130A patent/FR3109655B1/fr active Active
• 2021
  • 2021-04-22 EP EP21720484.1A patent/EP4139895A1/de active Pending
  • 2021-04-22 US US17/919,699 patent/US20230144346A1/en active Pending
  • 2021-04-22 WO PCT/EP2021/060610 patent/WO2021214264A1/fr unknown
  • 2021-04-22 CN CN202180029927.6A patent/CN115428023A/zh active Pending

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